


Her Favorite Sound

by lavellanxx



Category: A Courtesan of Rome (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-23 16:39:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18553651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavellanxx/pseuds/lavellanxx
Summary: Karina enjoyed the quiet moments the best.





	Her Favorite Sound

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first time I'm actually posting a fanfic so idk what I'm doing really. but I'm desperate for antony content, and there hardly is any, so I decided to make some of my own :)

The candlelight danced across Antony’s chest, the flame flickering with the warm summer breeze. Karina enjoyed these moments the best. Those quiet moments alone where they could just lay together. Skin against skin, lips against lips.

His heart beat steadily beneath her ear. Far too quickly had the sound become familiar. Far too quickly had he become her comfort. 

Despite the warnings against him, Karina longed for the nights where she could go to him. He’d become her escape, from the _scholae_ , the politics of Rome — all of it. And though he wouldn’t say it aloud, she knew he felt the same.

It was odd to think of just how comfortable she had become around him, how open she was with her thoughts. She even spoke freely of Caesar, despite Antony’s known loyalty and praise for the man. 

There were numerous times when Karina found herself biting her tongue in favor of smiling along with whatever it was her patron said, Cassius included. Dissent from a  _ courtesan _ of all people would not do well with Rome’s patricians, especially when concerned with the state of their beloved Republic.

But Antony was different. He  _ liked _ when she spoke openly. He welcomed her challenge. He had from the first.

Karina wondered what her father would think, should he ever realize she had fallen in love with Caesar’s top general. Displeased would be putting it mildly. She could just picture the quiet disappointment of her father, how he would turn and blame himself for any mishaps of his daughter. She would always be that young girl to him, newly bled and freshly marked as a member of the Catauni, all before Rome came and took it all away.

But it had been a long time since Gaul, and she was no longer that young girl.

Their day had been typical. Karina was pressed to Antony’s side as he presided over the day’s games until the pair found themselves at a _popina_. The wine flowed and their hands wandered, becoming a bit too familiar for the public eye. It wasn’t until Karina was fully seated in his lap that he finally decided to take her home.

_ “How about we leave this place and have our own fun, huh?” _ he had whispered to her, his breath hot on her ear.

Antony had pulled her back onto him the moment they settled into the litter, his lips quickly finding hers.

And yet as they came closer to Pompey’s estate, passion slowed into affection, that heat, mellowing into an encompassing warmth. He felt like wine. 

His hands ran through her hair, brushed against her breasts — they touched anywhere and everywhere they could. And when he finally laid her down on his silken sheets he let his tongue wander, exploring every inch of her skin.

Antony took his time, savoring every kiss, every touch. She held him, clinging as his name became a ragged prayer at her lips.

And then it all settled.

He rolled them both, laying on his back with her atop him, his chest heaving with heavy breaths. She grinned at him through her own pants before reaching up for a kiss, lingering and sweet. 

Karina laid down her head, listening to the calming of his heart. 

It was her favorite sound.

She didn’t know quite how long it was that they lay there, with their hands wandering in slow caresses as the song of cicadas drifted in with the breeze. She loved how the candlelight flickered in his eyes.

Karina pressed her lips to his jaw.

“I wanted to tell you,” Antony’s voice rumbled through his chest, his deep tenor sighing in the night. “Your father fought well today.”

Karina hummed, her fingers tracing small lazy circles on his sun-kissed skin. “He did.” 

And he had. There had been one startling moment where she feared the Samnite had overpowered her father. Karina had snatched Antony’s hand with her own, gripping it as her father was knocked to the ground. But her father had kicked the Samnite out from underneath himself, catching a moment to fetch his blade once more.

“He’s always been strong,” she said.

“I see much of him in you, you know,” he said.

Her lips pulled into a smirk, eyes flashing up at him. “Hopefully not too much, or should I be concerned?”

Antony chuckled, pulling lightly on the curls that coiled down her back. “Don’t worry, I’m not quite looking for your father’s services.” His lips pressed down to her hairline. “I meant his spirit, my dear. I see the same flame in you.”

“Ah.”

He huffed, still smiling. “Ah?”

Karina shifted, pushing herself up on his chest to face him. Her arms rested beneath her breasts as her lips pursed.  _ “Yes,  _ ‘ah.’ What else would you have me say? You  _ know _ where its cause lies.”

Antony rolled his eyes, that infuriating smirk still in place. “Yes, yes, I know all of your vengeance, seeing as you won’t  _ shut up _ about your  _ distaste _ for Caesar. Truthfully, I don’t know why I even put up with you.” His eyes flicked down to her bare chest. “Though I must say, your tits certainly help.”

“Antony, be serious.”

“Fine, fine,” he sighed. Antony moved his hands to cup her face, tilting his head towards her. “I only meant to pay you a compliment. You’re a brave woman, and far too stubborn for your own good, but gods help me, I love that about you. That is all I meant to say.”

Karina softened into a small smile. It wasn’t often that Antony spoke sweetly to her — they were only ever in private, usually followed after their love making — but she treasured every word, all the same. What they had was still tentative, but she allowed herself to hope that it could bloom into something greater. 

She leaned into his hand, before turning to press a kiss to the palm of it. “Thank you,” she mumbled. “And I know you didn’t mean anything by it, I just… With my family, I-”

He kissed her softly. “I know.” Lips pressed to lips. “I know.”

And he did know.


End file.
